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I counted 12 of us waiting to be interviewed for the post of Associate Lecturer in Physics. And found 11 of us dressed casually. And one, let us call him Dev Anand, dressed to kill, smooth-shaven, handsome, fair, tall, lean, in suit and tie, cherry-blossomed shoes, holding a fancy portfolio.
He was the first to be called in and after half an hour, he came out smiling like a champion who just won his Wimbledon. My heart sank. The ad said there were 2 vacancies. One is filled up, I knew, by now. And there are 11 of us competing for the remaining 1 post.
On March 24, I was surprised and delighted to get my appointment letter through proper channel, meaning our HoD at Vizagh, that I was selected, and asking me to join within a month. I sent a telegram accepting the offer and asking time till May 1. And got back a telegram saying it is ok.
When I joined on 1st May, Dev Anand was already in and was smiling broadly...apparently he recognized me. And we became hall-mates, office-mates, course-mates, and Gole Bazzar-mates.
Within a year I liked the place so much that I decided to retire from there after 40 years. And discovered that Dev Anand had other plans...for him, IIT KGP was a mere springboard, a caravansary, a stop-gap. His sights were firmly set on the US. And within another year he landed a schol in a very good grad school in the US and also a Fulbright Travel Grant...so he was floating in air, and money.
One of those days he asked me to accompany him to Calcutta for the day to get his passport, foreign exchange, airline ticket, and such. I agreed since he was footing my entire expenses for the day...I was as poor as a church mouse.
That was a memorable trip to me. I never had been to Central Calcutta till then. And Dalhousie Square, RBI, GPO, RPO, Air-India Building, Park Street, and such glam places were simply astounding. I was awe-struck like Kuchela (aka Sudama) going to Dwaraka to visit Sri Krishna in his palace.
Escalator! Air-conditioned Offices! Clive's Writers!
After a couple of trips here and there rushing in taxis, Dev took me to lunch in what he called the Amber Restaurant (pronounced like the 'amber' we read in our static electricity lessons...but I guess it is just Umber...the sky in Hindi-Punjabi....like Thackers is the Gujju Takkar).
The place frightened me...it was all dark...and Dev explained to me all about concealed lighting. I guess they didn't want their customers to see the tiny baby cockroaches floating in their raita.
And the waiter brought a glass dish in which were a dozen brownish pieces floating in a reddish liquid, before taking his order. And Deb asked for a plethora of aloo paranthas, dal takda, tomato soup, veg pilau, topped by ice cream and dessert.
And while waiting for the waiter to materialize with the goodies, Dev started picking up, one after another, the brown chaps from the glass dish and munching them.
I asked him:
"Are they veg?"
And he laughed and said:
"It depends on whether you are a widow or not...they are just baby spring onions"
"What is that blood-red liquid they are soaked in?"
"Vinegar"
The name was familiar to me from my organic chemistry days. And I gingerly tried one.
It was just delicious. We, South Indians, are sour-tongued (like Bongs are sweet-toothed). And I recalled that vinegar is nothing but acetic acid. Baby onions pickled in vinegar...I don't know if they have a Hindi name for it. I never saw them in all my 21 years in AP. And I have never tasted anything like them since...I never visited Amber again. Their memory still appetizes me. (For pundits in English, I must admit there is no word like 'appetize' in Webster, though 'appetizer' and 'appetizing' are perfectly legitimate...it is there in Free Online Dictionary though...queer!)
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Ishani and her mom have left for Nellore for their summer vacation for all of 50 days...FIFTY DAYS...tough on the old man holding the Charminar aloft here single-handed.
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Date: 1st March 1965
Venue: Director's Office Waiting Lounge, IIT KGP
Weather: Marvelous spring noon
I counted 12 of us waiting to be interviewed for the post of Associate Lecturer in Physics. And found 11 of us dressed casually. And one, let us call him Dev Anand, dressed to kill, smooth-shaven, handsome, fair, tall, lean, in suit and tie, cherry-blossomed shoes, holding a fancy portfolio.
He was the first to be called in and after half an hour, he came out smiling like a champion who just won his Wimbledon. My heart sank. The ad said there were 2 vacancies. One is filled up, I knew, by now. And there are 11 of us competing for the remaining 1 post.
On March 24, I was surprised and delighted to get my appointment letter through proper channel, meaning our HoD at Vizagh, that I was selected, and asking me to join within a month. I sent a telegram accepting the offer and asking time till May 1. And got back a telegram saying it is ok.
When I joined on 1st May, Dev Anand was already in and was smiling broadly...apparently he recognized me. And we became hall-mates, office-mates, course-mates, and Gole Bazzar-mates.
Within a year I liked the place so much that I decided to retire from there after 40 years. And discovered that Dev Anand had other plans...for him, IIT KGP was a mere springboard, a caravansary, a stop-gap. His sights were firmly set on the US. And within another year he landed a schol in a very good grad school in the US and also a Fulbright Travel Grant...so he was floating in air, and money.
One of those days he asked me to accompany him to Calcutta for the day to get his passport, foreign exchange, airline ticket, and such. I agreed since he was footing my entire expenses for the day...I was as poor as a church mouse.
That was a memorable trip to me. I never had been to Central Calcutta till then. And Dalhousie Square, RBI, GPO, RPO, Air-India Building, Park Street, and such glam places were simply astounding. I was awe-struck like Kuchela (aka Sudama) going to Dwaraka to visit Sri Krishna in his palace.
Escalator! Air-conditioned Offices! Clive's Writers!
After a couple of trips here and there rushing in taxis, Dev took me to lunch in what he called the Amber Restaurant (pronounced like the 'amber' we read in our static electricity lessons...but I guess it is just Umber...the sky in Hindi-Punjabi....like Thackers is the Gujju Takkar).
The place frightened me...it was all dark...and Dev explained to me all about concealed lighting. I guess they didn't want their customers to see the tiny baby cockroaches floating in their raita.
And the waiter brought a glass dish in which were a dozen brownish pieces floating in a reddish liquid, before taking his order. And Deb asked for a plethora of aloo paranthas, dal takda, tomato soup, veg pilau, topped by ice cream and dessert.
And while waiting for the waiter to materialize with the goodies, Dev started picking up, one after another, the brown chaps from the glass dish and munching them.
I asked him:
"Are they veg?"
And he laughed and said:
"It depends on whether you are a widow or not...they are just baby spring onions"
"What is that blood-red liquid they are soaked in?"
"Vinegar"
The name was familiar to me from my organic chemistry days. And I gingerly tried one.
It was just delicious. We, South Indians, are sour-tongued (like Bongs are sweet-toothed). And I recalled that vinegar is nothing but acetic acid. Baby onions pickled in vinegar...I don't know if they have a Hindi name for it. I never saw them in all my 21 years in AP. And I have never tasted anything like them since...I never visited Amber again. Their memory still appetizes me. (For pundits in English, I must admit there is no word like 'appetize' in Webster, though 'appetizer' and 'appetizing' are perfectly legitimate...it is there in Free Online Dictionary though...queer!)
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Ishani's Summer Vacation
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